And we’re off and running! It’s really the age old question for bourbon-lovers isn’t it? On what particular whiskey (or whiskeys) should a whiskey lover spend their hard-earned dollars? To best answer it, I decided to call in the cavalry. I contacted a number of bourbon and whiskey bloggers, podcasters, writers, and retailers and asked them to submit their own strategic allocations of a hundred bucks. The series is called “If I had a Benjamin.” (See the whole series here.) Our first response comes from Chris at Bottom of the Barrel. Chris took two approaches: what he keeps around his…
Author: Bill
Bill
Bill is the Co-Founder, Editor-in Chief, and official Bourbon-o-Phile for ModernThirst.com, and Founder and Chief Blending Officer for Four Gate Whiskey Company. He is a native of Louisville, KY in the heart of Bourbon Country. He attended the University of Kentucky in the mid to late 1990s. He has also been published on Liquor.com. He has conducted various bourbon and whiskey tastings in cities across the country, and consulted for multiple national labels. He is married with two daughters, and lives in east Louisville. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @BillStraub and email him at [email protected].
A Few weeks ago, one of our regular readers (Thanks, Gary!) posed an interesting question to us and sparked a conversation on our Forums: If I had $100 to spend on one or more bourbons, which ones would I buy? It’s really the age old question for bourbon-lovers isn’t it? On what particular whiskey should a whiskey lover spend their hard-earned dollars? To best answer it, I decided to call in the cavalry. I contacted a number of bourbon and whiskey bloggers, podcasters, writers, and retailers and asked them to submit their own strategic allocations of a hundred bucks. This…
The Courier-Journal is reporting that a Franklin County, KY Grand Jury has handed out indictments to 9 individuals accused of running an organized crime syndicate and stealing massive amounts of bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery and Wild Turkey Distillery as far back as 2008. Pappygate may be coming to an end!
It seems like every week we get the dreaded news that a producers has removed the age label from one of their products or the price has doubled. One of my regular go-to pours may be following suit. Recently spotted bottles of Elijah Craig in the Grosse Pointe Farms area of Detroit show a conspicuously missing number 12…as in “12 Years Old.” The fine print on the rear label still shows the age, but I can’t help but think this is a precursor to removing it altogether. We can only hope Heaven Hill comes to its senses. Elijah Craig is…
Much has been written about the decline of Detroit. There’s no reason to rehash the same old discussions here. Suffice to say, the decline in domestic auto manufacturing led to a tumultuous demographic shift in and around the city of Detroit that led to the eventual declaration of bankruptcy by the city itself- the largest American City to declare bankruptcy. The end result was a precipitous decline in population, where the city population fell from over 1.8 million inhabitants at its height to less than 750,000 by 2010. Great swaths of both urban and suburban Detroit were abandoned, and eventually razed…
With almost 90 whiskeys reviewed, it’s time to take a look back at some of the liquors that have really been a pleasure to drink and write about. Take a moment to scroll through the following 10 whiskeys that have received our highest marks!
In early 2014, Modern Thirst took a stroll down the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and visited Jim Beam’s massive American Stillhouse in Clermont, KY. (See post about previous visit here.) In February of this year, as part of the Bourbon Classic Media tour, we were able to visit again despite a heavy snowfall the prior night. In addition to a nice tour of the facilities, we were treated to a dinner and tasting with none other than Fred Noe himself in a board room at the distillery. Fred spun tales of growing up in the Noe household, the origins behind some of…
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B01MSXTOZL’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b9fc451d-a2d9-11e7-a587-05882f2a125a’] Quick Stats: Producer: Jim Beam Brands, Clermont, KY Age: Not Stated Mash Bill: 60% Corn, 30% Rye, 10% Barley Malt Price Paid: $27.99* (price already scheduled to rise) Availability: Readily Available 114 Proof (58.5% ABV) ModernThirst.com’s April 2015 Bourbon of the Month What it is: Old Grand-Dad 114 is the younger, higher proof iteration of the Jim Beam high rye mash bill that also includes Basil Hayden’s and the standard Old Grand-Dad and Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond. Containing nearly double the rye content of the rest of the Jim Beam product line, Old Grand-Dad and…
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B06Y1VGMH2′ template=’MT-product-carousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89cd9de4-ff80-11e7-ad0b-b3d612b3a656′] Quick Stats: Producer: Luxco, St.Louis, MO Distilled by: Heaven Hill, Bernheim Distillery Proof: 99 proof (49.5% ABV) Age: 12 Years Barrel# 532 Bottled 2-14 Availability: Limited Price Paid: $34.99 What it is: Ezra Brooks (or “Ezra B” as the single barrel is labeled), was introduced in 1960. The current iteration is owned by Luxco out of St. Louis, MO. Like many other payers in the Bourbon game, Luxco is a Non-Distiller Producer (NDP), which means Luxco does not actually own a distillery, and instead buys their whiskey from another source. In this case, the…
Old Grand Dad 114! This is a spicy, high proof, high rye variant on the traditional Jim Beam profile, and a long time favorite of bargain bourbon shoppers. Sharing its mash bill with the much (in our opinion) under-proofed Basil Hayden, Old Grand Dad 114 takes special care to avoid that same mistake by bashing the 80 proof ceiling over the head and driving right up to…you guessed it, 114 proof. See our official ModernThirst.com review of Old Grand-Dad 114 here. So let’s see your photos and hear your opinions. Throughout the month of April, crack a bottle of OGD114 and…